VIENNA — Saudi Arabia promised today not to flood the oil market with extra barrels even as OPEC failed to agree on output policy, with Iran insisting on the right to raise production steeply.
Tensions between the Sunni-led kingdom and the Shi’ite Islamic Republic have been the highlights of several previous OPEC meetings, including in December 2015 when the group failed to agree on a formal output target for the first time in years.

DOHA: A deal to freeze oil output by OPEC and non-OPEC producers fell apart on Sunday after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join in despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude prices. The development will revive oil industry fears that major producers are embarking again on a battle for market share, especially after Riyadh threatened to raise output steeply if no freeze deal were reached.

RBC Capital MarketsOPEC, the now 13-member oil cartel, decided to maintain production at 31.5 million barrels per day at its meeting in Vienna last Friday.
But the group remained divided over its production ceiling, and failed to reach an agreement.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent oil prices held around $50 a barrel on Friday following an OPEC meeting that failed to agree on output targets, but which was seen as supportive as Saudi Arabia pledged not to flood the market with more fuel.

Follow OPEC's blame-mongering statement earlier today -"observers should not be quick to judge or criticize" the organization - it appears mutiny is occurring within the cartel as OPEC sources report Saudi Arabia threatening to "steeply raise" output following Iran's refusal to cap output. WTI is tumbling on the news, testing towards a $43 handle.
OPEC blames analysts for exposing the cartel's impotence:

After his comments thwarted supply negotiations in Doha, oil traders are weighing another implied warning from the Saudi deputy crown prince: the threat of an intensifying clash with Iran over market share.

Crude oil futures are trading in the green during early hours on Thursday, after reports of a possible deal from Saudi Arabia surfaced earlier today. The headlines come a day before representatives of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member nations meet in Vienna, to discuss the cartel’s stance amid falling crude prices.